8 Best Sights in Side Trips Near Tucson, Tucson

This mining operations center elucidates the importance of mining to everyday life. Indoor exhibits include a walk-through model of an ore crusher, video stations that explain refining processes, and a film about how minerals are actually extracted. Outside, you can see some of the actual equipment, including a few gargantuan trucks used for hauling the stuff. The big draw, though, is the yawning open pit of the Mission Mine, some 2 miles long and 1¾ miles wide because so much earth has to be torn up to extract the 1% that is copper. It's impressive, but doesn't bolster the case the center tries to make about how environmentally conscious mining has become. Tours of the pit take a little over an hour; the last one starts at 3:30. From May to September, pit mine tours are only offered on Saturday.

With approximately 200 miles of scenic trails, the recreation area of Madera Canyon—which includes Mount Wrightson, the highest peak in Southern Arizona, at 9,453 feet—is a haven for hikers and birders. Trails vary from a steep trek up Mount Baldy to a paved, wheelchair-accessible path along the creek. Birders flock here year-round; about 400 avian species have been spotted in the area.

There are picnic tables and ramadas near the parking areas, and camping is available. The Santa Rita Lodge (), with charming cabins, has numerous bird feeders and a gift shop. Friends of Madera Canyon () operates an information station here on the weekends.

Across the street from the Tumacácori National Historic Park, the Santa Cruz Spice Factory packs and sells 240 varieties of herbs and spices, including the owner's home-grown chili powders and pastes. A little museum, tasting area, and store are open Monday through Saturday.

Across the street from the Tumacácori National Historic Park, the Santa Cruz Spice Factory packs and sells 240 varieties of herbs and spices, including the owner's home-grown chili powders and pastes. A little museum, tasting area, and store are open Monday through Saturday.

Now a National Historic Landmark, the Titan Missile Museum makes for a sobering visit. During the Cold War, Tucson was ringed by 18 of the 54 Titan II missiles maintained in the United States. After the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union was signed in 1979, this was the only missile-launch site left intact.

Guided one-hour tours, which must be reserved in advance, take you down 55 steps into the command post, where a ground crew of four lived and waited. Among the sights is the 103-foot, 165-ton, two-stage liquid-fuel rocket. Now empty, it originally held a nuclear warhead with 214 times the explosive power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

Now a National Historic Landmark, the Titan Missile Museum makes for a sobering visit. During the Cold War, Tucson was ringed by 18 of the 54 Titan II missiles maintained in the United States. After the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union was signed in 1979, this was the only missile-launch site left intact.

Guided one-hour tours, which must be reserved in advance, take you down 55 steps into the command post, where a ground crew of four lived and waited. Among the sights is the 103-foot, 165-ton, two-stage liquid-fuel rocket. Now empty, it originally held a nuclear warhead with 214 times the explosive power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

There's an archaeological display of portions of the original 1752 fort at this museum, as well as artifacts and detailed exhibits on the history of the early colony. The park includes picnic areas, gardens, an adobe rowhouse built in 1897, and Tubac's well-preserved 1885 schoolhouse.

Encompassing mission ruins, the church of San José de Tumacácori, and a portion of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, this park became a national monument in 1908. Guided tours of the beautiful church and grounds are available daily at 11 and 2, January through March, and information on both the mission and the historic trail is available at the visitor center. A small museum displays some of the mission's artifacts, and often during winter and spring months fresh tortillas are made on a wood-fire stove in the courtyard. Creative educational programs, such as full-moon tours, bird walks, and a Junior Ranger Program, are offered throughout the year. An annual fiesta the first weekend of December has arts and crafts and food booths.